Sam Says Goodbye
by morgana07
Summary: 1-shot. Dean wakes up to find Sam's taken Kevin's car to go say goodbye to someone. Not wanting his brother to face anything alone, Dean follows and finds that this goodbye will hit harder than he expected it to. *Limp/sad!Sam & Frustrated/protective!Dean* Set after 8x23 Sacrifice.
1. Chapter 1

**Sam Says Goodbye**

**Summary: **_1-shot. Dean wakes up to find Sam's taken Kevin's car to go say goodbye to someone. Not wanting his brother to face anything alone, Dean follows and finds that this goodbye will hit harder than he expected it to. *Limp/sad!Sam & Frustrated/protective!Dean* Set after 8x23 Sacrifice._

**Warnings/Spoilers: **_Minor for language as usual but on this one I'll toss in a full tissue warning. Also, anyone who has lost a pet this may be a little upsetting so just be aware of this. /There are minor spoilers for the finale and maybe for a little for the beginning of Season 9 even though those are few and far between but may be in here._

**Tags:**_No._

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own anything. This is written for enjoyment of the fans._

**Author Note: **_A little piece of sappy emotional fluff. Yes, it made me cry so I put in a tissue alert. _

**SPN SPN SPN SPN**

"Excuse me? Sam is where?"

Dean Winchester's head ached like he'd been on a week long hiatus with Jack Daniels instead of sleeping for more than sixteen hours straight. Now he wished he'd stayed asleep.

"He got an e-mail, got really freaked out, took my car and said to tell you he'd be back after he took care of this," Kevin Tran was peeking around a bookshelf of heavy and dusty books since he figured he wanted something between himself and what he already knew would be an angry hunter. "He said he didn't want to wake you up because you'd been hovering over him and…"

"I've been hovering over him because he still looks like the walking dead," Dean snorted, rolling his eyes and swearing he was finding a way to lock down his younger brother. "It's only been a week or so since whatever the hell happened upstairs to kick most if not all the Angels to the curb. I've literally got the goddamn King of Hell on lockdown. Sam's bad days still outweigh his good and now you tell me he's taken your car and gone…where?" he demanded, eyeing the offending laptop before yanking it closer to him.

As the latest Prophet of the Lord, Kevin had really hoped his job would be over only to find himself in deeper but right at this moment he figured it safe enough to stick his head out. "Well, he said he didn't want to take the Impala and…"

"Uhh, no, because the last time he swiped my car I punched him in the face," Dean snorted, seeing that his brother had been in such a hurry that he hadn't closed out of his e-mail account and looked over what had sent his still not feeling well younger brother off on his own. "Shit."

"'_Sam. It's been a long time but you once said you wanted to know when that time was coming close. He's been getting slower in the past few years but an accident to his leg caused us to take him to the doctor and he said that it was getting close so I wanted to let you know. I've sent the address as well. Hope you are well. Tonya._'"

"Shit, shit, shit," Dean sighed, rubbing his hands over his eyes after jotting down the address before closing the e-mail down and going to another page. "Whatever the hell this is Sammy so does not need it."

Dean had always known his little brother wore his heart on his sleeve but it was even more so after the events in the church between them and something told Dean that whatever this e-mail was about would push Sam up against a wall of emotion.

"I am so grounding him as soon as I find him," he muttered sourly, pulling up the app he wanted to type in some details while feeling the presence behind him. "You're coming with me to drive your car back if you want it."

Kevin debated on that idea and shrugged. "I can get another one. That one's about had it and I doubt if I'll be driving much until this gets fixed and…you lojacked your own brother?" he stared at the screen with wide eyes as it hit him what he was looking at.

"It's not something I'm proud of and if he knew Sam would kill me but since my little brother had a habit of either vanishing on me or getting grabbed this was a lot easier than trying to track his damn cellphone all the time," Dean replied without looking up as he sent the directions to his own phone. "Stay here, stay away from the dungeon and don't touch anything," he ordered.

"Dean, why would Sam take off like this?" Kevin called as the question came out. "Is someone he knows sick or…"

"Something like that," Dean suspected it was more along the lines of what was sick and not a who but Sam wouldn't think of it like that and he felt a burning need to be with Sam as his brother faced this. "We'll be back."

Leaving Kevin alone at the bunker wasn't a move that Dean liked right now but when he had to choose between that he should do and what needed to be done then he'd pick Sam before anything else. Nothing else was coming between them again if he could help it.

The drive from Kansas to Arizona didn't take Dean nearly as long as he thought it would though he decided to overlook the times he'd gone far faster than the legal speed limit and used short cuts he hadn't thought of since he and Sam were kids.

It was still closing in on the sun just breaking as he pulled up in front of the address he'd been following to see that it was a modest Adobe style house with a nice yard and fence surrounding it.

Slightly doubting his choice to follow Sam or perhaps thinking he'd gotten the wrong address, a look down the street showed him Kevin's car parked carefully. "Damn it, what's this about, Sammy?" he tossed his jacket back into the Impala before eyeing the house warily and making a choice.

Dean raised his hand to knock when the door opened before he could to show him an older Spanish lady with greying black hair and sharp dark eyes that were appraising him shrewdly before nodding. "You're his brother."

Giving a slight nod, Dean waited as he was once again look over before the woman stepped aside to open the screen door. "I take it that you know Sam?" he wasn't sure how his brother knew the woman or what was exactly going on but since he didn't feel like getting hit with the pan she was holding he kept his questions to himself.

"I saw him when your Dad brought the dog here that day years ago," she acknowledged, leading him through the house without asking why he was there or knew to come. "Sam's kept in touch since he was old enough and always asked us to contact him if anything happened to Bones. My daughter contacted him the other night when it became pretty plain his time was coming."

Names and dates were flashing through Dean's head and it finally clicked. The time Sam had run away to Phoenix he'd picked up a stray young dog. Neither Sam nor their Dad had said what happened to the dog after John went to drag his youngest son back and he hadn't asked since it had become pretty plain to Dean that his brother had loved the dog.

Sam's love for animals was another thing that Dean could always count on to pull at his brother's heartstrings and it had been the one thing that no matter what Dean had never been able to give Sam growing up. Now he was wondering how the bunker would stand up under a puppy.

Right then he needed to focus on what the woman was saying as his heart got closer to being stuck in his throat. "The dog is…"

"Bones is old and a recent fall hurt his leg," the older woman stopped by a door to a back room to look at him with obvious tears not falling. "The vet said to put him down but I've a good hand with animals and can tell that he'll pass on his own. We thought Sam would want to be here but if I'd known how bad that boy was I never would have let Angie call him."

"Yeah, Sammy's been through a lot lately," Dean had known this would be emotional but this was even worse than he'd considered as he looked down at the hand on his arm. "That's why I came after him."

"He said you might," she offered a smile while closing her hands over both of his. "This will hurt him but he needs to let go of it. Bones had a long life of making people and children happy and now it's time for him to rest."

Dean closed his eyes to try to blink away the burning he could feel coming as he turned the knob to step into a cozily decorated bedroom to hear his brother's low soft and breaking voice coming from the other side of the bed.

Sam was sitting on the floor, back bowed as he pressed his face into the soft fur of the dog laying over his legs. The hard shudders going through broad shoulders told Dean that his brother was close to sobbing and a look down explained to him why.

The dog looked peaceful as Dean slowly sat down on the floor to meet its eyes and to the older Winchester it was like the yellow dog was watching him as if judging before deciding Dean was who Sam needed.

Understanding, Dean merely nodded as if to reassure the treasured pet that it was alright to go, that he'd take care of Sam and slowly he watched as Bones moved a little closer in Sam's trembling arms before closing his eyes and finding peace.

"You're a good boy. You can go home now," Sam was whispering through sobs and tears as he buried his face tighter into the fur. "I won't forget you. I know you had a good home and I'm sorry I left you but…"

"Sammy," Dean slid an arm around his brother's shaking shoulders while using his hand to lift Sam's tear streaked face up and felt his heart break at the amount of pain and loss reflected in those huge hazel eyes. "He had the best home you could give him right here. I know you loved him but we moved around too much to take care of a pet.

"You came to be here with him and he knew that. He knew you were here and that you loved him but for him to really be at peace…you need to let him go," holding Sam's eyes, Dean gave a shaky smile while nodding. "He knew you'd be okay too and he's gone but you have to let go, Sammy. Just let go."

Whether Dean meant to let go of his ties to Bones or to let go of any leftover buried guilt or emotions he'd been covering Sam wasn't sure but the feel of his brother's arm tightening over his shoulders and the huskiness in Dean's voice had Sam breaking and he turned to grab on to the sense of security his brother always seemed to give in times like this.

"Hey…it's okay, Sammy," Dean had suspected and prepared for Sam's arms to go around him as he buried his face against Dean's chest. "It's going to be okay now. I'm here and you did what you had to for him now just let go. I've got'cha."

Dean sat still to just hold his sobbing little brother, keeping his arm around him while making certain to keep his other hand constantly moving to card his shaking fingers back through Sam's hair.

He wasn't sure how long he talked to Sam before the heavy body shaking sobs slowly began to ease off to just little ones and then finally just sniffles as Sam's muscles relaxed as grief and exhaustion took him under.

"I'm going to take care of everything, Sammy," Dean promised softly, lightly running his hand over soft fur as he added. "If dogs go to Heaven take a chunk out of a crazy sweater wearing Angel and look out for an old guy wearing a trucker cap. I'll look out for this one."

Hearing a step, Dean didn't even care how long the older woman had been there as she nodded that he understood. "We will take care of…"

"I'll do it," Dean had made up his mind that he would do this because he knew it was what Sam would have done if his brother had collapsed. "Can he sleep?"

Patting the bed, the older woman used a lot more strength than it looked like she would have to help him get his brother out from under the dog's weight to the bed to sleep while Dean took care of what needed to be done now.

"You dig holes for a living?" she asked an hour later as she stood watching Dean fill back in the hole he'd dug for the wooden box that had already been prepared. "You seem to know what you're doing."

"A side job," Dean leaned on the shovel as he patted the dirt down as she covered it with some lye and hay to protect it until grass could grow. "You said my Dad brought the dog to you?"

"My husband served with John in Vietnam so when he came through Phoenix and found Bones he asked us to take care of him and we have," she glanced back to the house at the same time Dean did. "Sam tried to offer us money when he was in school for taking care of Bones but I just slapped him with my spoon at even the suggestion. Now you'll take care of him?"

Dean hid his smirk at that comment while nodding. "Yeah, taking care of my little brother is what I do," he caught and held Sam's eyes in the door. "I'll send someone back for that piece of crap he drove here in," he told her while putting the shovel away and knowing that Sam would be in the Impala by the time he got there. "Thank you for taking care of both of them."

"Looking after lost souls is what I do best," she assured him after handing him a sack of provisions for the drive back. "Make him eat. I tell him all the time he needs to eat more than lettuce."

"You're preaching to the choir but I'll do it," Dean accepted the hug and wasn't surprised to find Sam curled up on the passenger side of the Impala. "You're calling Garth to come get Kevin's car, dude," he remarked after twenty minutes of silence.

"Thanks for coming, Dean," Sam murmured, tired and wanting to sleep but needing to face this first. "I know you're busy and…"

Shooting a look across the seat, Dean's hand was on Sam's chin to tilt it up to eye level as he split his attention between the empty road and his brother. "I said nothing was more important to me than you and I wasn't letting you face anything like this alone…though next time wake me up before you swipe Kevin's car, okay?"

Sam nodded before peaking into the bag to see what had been packed, looking up at the feel of strong fingers gripping his neck. "I never forgot him."

"You never will, Sammy," Dean wished he had an easy fix for this but could only offer comfort as it was needed. "You'll always remember him but you were with him when it counted and I think he knew it. I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner," he wished his brother wouldn't have been alone for so long.

"I figured it would take you an hour or so once you activated the damn locator thing in my watch," Sam yawned, smiling behind his hand at the way his brother stilled. "I've known for a few years that you had me lojacked and since I knew it was your way of looking out for me I decided not to smash your face in for it."

"Smart ass," Dean muttered, feeling the small shivers go through Sam again and knew he'd be falling to sleep. "You okay, Sammy?" he asked, concerned that after everything else this might hit Sam too hard.

It was several minutes of silence before Sam flicked on the radio, bunched up Dean's jacket to use as a pillow against the door before he nodded slowly. "I think I will. Bones is with Bobby now and I know he's at peace. It's just sometimes I wish…"

Not wanting to finish that and embarrass himself or bring back the emotions he'd managed to cover for the moment, Sam started to curl his shoulder against the window to sleep when he paused at the sound of Dean's fingers tapping on the wheel.

"Y'know…so long as you puppy proof it…the bunker could probably stand another occupant," Dean remarked casually, not missing the sharp breath or the way his brother's eyes shot to his. "I mean, it'd give Kevin something to do when he's not translating that tablet and…you too."

Swallowing the lump that had just hit in his throat, Sam was nearly tempted to see of his brother was possessed. "You…hate dogs," he began carefully.

"No, I don't hate dogs…just Yorkies and Hellhounds but I don't happen to hate all dogs so if you want a puppy you'd have to choose one that isn't a Yorkie and won't grow bigger than Kevin or Garth," Dean returned, keeping his eyes on the road but ready for when Sam slid across the seat to hug him tightly but briefly. "You want to get the bunker a puppy, little brother?"

"Yeah but how about we wait to see where this latest crisis leads us and…then talk about it?" Sam didn't want to bring a puppy into their lives like this but now that he knew his brother wasn't against the idea he'd consider it more later. "Thanks again, Dean," he laid his head against his brother's jacket to close his eyes.

Dean kept the radio turned down low so it gave noise but wouldn't disturb his brother as he kept an arm stretched over the back of the seat so he'd have a hand ready in case Sam got restless in his sleep while hoping that dogs did get to go to a Heaven and that his brother's dog found his as he drove them home.

**TBC**

**A/NII: **_Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Look me up on Facebook under morgana07 for updates or to talk about stories._


	2. Chapter 2

**Sam Says Goodbye**

**Author Note:**_ Here's a little on to this story to give it a bit happier ending._

**Chapter Two**

"Dean! How the hell drunk were you that this happened?"

"I was gone less than four hours, Kevin. Do I look drunk to you?"

"Fine! How drunk have you been that it burned your brain up to allow this to happen?"

"Just quit bitching and grab that thing before it gets away again."

"It's bigger than I am! You grab it! Hey, weren't there two of them a minute ago?"

The one drawback in Sam Winchester's tired and echoing mind to the old Men of Letters bunker was at certain times and in certain places the damn thing echoed and made sounds seem five times louder than normal.

So when he woke up with a pounding headache and not feeling so well the echoing voices of his older brother and their Prophet wanted to make him bury his head under a mountain of pillows that seemed to have accumulated on his bed after Dean decided he didn't have enough.

Ever since he didn't finish the third trial, Sam had his good days and bad days and this looked to be one of his not so good days. He was torn between crawling out of bed to see what was going on or just letting Dean deal with whatever he'd done to upset Kevin when something cold and wet touched the hand that he'd tossed out of bed.

It had been a week since he'd gotten back from Arizona and the final goodbye of what Sam will always consider his dog and it wasn't always easy to cope with that on top of what was facing them now.

The cold and wet thing hit his hand again and since Sam was well aware of everything that was in the bunker he was scrunching his face up in confusion when a small but high little bark came and he groaned at the noise a second before his hazel eyes snapped open.

"What the…" looking down, Sam blinked several times before his bed was then jumped on by a small fluffy dog with multi colored fur, short pointed ears and a tongue that was now hanging out as it looked at the younger Winchester. "Uh-huh," he muttered, fairly certain he was dreaming or fevered since there should be no way a dog would be on his bed.

Looking more carefully, he noticed it had on a collar that he swore had sigils on it. "Hey," he held a hand out slowly but the small dog that as he looked again was clearly a puppy that hadn't started growing yet. "You're a cute little guy."

Sam laughed as the dog took that as an invitation to lick his face happily and finally he scooped it up under one arm to climb out of bed at the sound of something crashing and his brother snarling. "I think we better go see what the hell Dean's been up to," he told the dog who yipped as if in agreement.

"Kevin, you need to shape up if you're going to be kept on as my unofficial…" Dean groaned as he looked up when he heard his name being called. "Shit! I wanted to surprise him."

"You really thought you could keep this thing a surprise?" Kevin groused, grunting while waving his arms as he laid on the floor in the main library. "It's squishing me!"

"It is not…or maybe only a little bit," Dean sighed, beginning to doubt the idea that had hit him suddenly this morning while at the store when he looked around. "Hey…aren't we missing…"

Sam stepped in to take in the scene of Kevin sprawled on the floor with something rather large and furry laying over him while Dean held the leash in his hand. "Did you misplace something?" he asked with his tongue in his cheek while sitting the smaller dog on the floor and eyeing his brother. "I thought you were going to the store?"

"That's what I said…oh, c'mon!" Kevin groaned as the smaller dog began licking his face.

"I did go to the store," Dean defended firmly when the larger all black with little spots of white on its ears and paws dog got up from Kevin to amble over to gaze at Sam with huge eyes before plopping down and lifting a paw. "I got health food, not so healthy food and junk…and them."

Lifting a brow as he eased to his knees, Sam smiled a little more as a large furry head nudged him until he was sitting. "The store have a buy one get one sale on puppies, Dean?" he asked, voice oddly soft as he began to pet the black dog only to laugh when the smaller one ran over to get some attention. "Where'd you find them?"

"I heard some people at the store talking about a couple dogs found behind the store last week that was in a shelter down town. They'd been dumped off and the smaller one was protecting the big one from a bunch of kids abusing them in the alley," Dean didn't sound pleased with that as he crouched down to watch his brother's reaction to the dogs. "So I…stopped by just to check it out and…the place was full and the manager said by end of the week they'd have to…"

Bright eyes shot up to his as Sam understood that meant the crowded shelter would have put the dogs to sleep if no one claimed them and he swallowed but instinctively moved closer as both dogs seemed to guess which of them was the softer mark.

"You…they…whose dogs are they, Dean?" Sam asked warily, laughing suddenly when he was almost knocked over by the larger of the two who looked to be nowhere close to growing into his huge feet and he recalled how clumsy he'd been as a boy. "Dean?"

Holding out two folders, Dean noticed that Kevin had vanished to give them some privacy and he sat down fully on the floor to watch as his brother tried to pat both animals when the little one decided to come over to get on his lap.

"That depends on how you look at it. They're yours, ours…Kevin's the unofficial puppy sitter when we're on a case," Dean shrugged, seeing the surprise and more slowly the joy hit Sam's face as he looked between the dogs to him. "They've got files, shots, hell, they're even lojacked in case Kevin loses them."

Still a little shocked by this move, Sam took the folders with shaking fingers and then lunged forward to hug his brother. "Thank you!" he smiled but fought back the tears that wanted to come.

It had never been a secret that he'd always wanted a pet of some kind but their lives made that hard, it still did and Sam wasn't sure it was fair on the puppies but he'd find some way to make it work since he'd already come attached to both animals even though he suspected his brother had no idea what he'd really brought home.

"What kind are they?" he asked while the black dog vanished to come back with an old boot that he knew was Dean's. "Ummm?"

"We've already had a talk about snatching my shoes so my next trip to town will be for dog toys," Dean decided, eyeing the shoe snatcher with a rare open smile as Sam tossed the item just to see the bigger dog scramble to get his big paws under him to get it. "The people at the shelter told me but it's all in the files but I know this little guy is a Borg so…"

Reaching for the folders again, Sam's smile turned up another notch at the name and realized why his brother would have latched onto that. "A Borg is on Star Trek…this is actually a Borgi according to the file," he bit his cheek at the blank look. "It's part Border Collie and part Welsh Corgi and from the looks of its paws I'd say it'll be in between the size when it's finished growing."

"Growing?" Dean blinked, trying to grab his boot but ended up in a tug of war match with the bigger black fluff ball with even larger paws and suddenly wondering on something. "Sam? How old do those papers say these guys are?" he asked warily and knew by his little brother's smile that he hadn't gotten dogs so much as puppies.

"They're both between ten and twelve weeks and this fella," Sam's face buried into the black fur while wrapping his arms around its neck. "He's a Great Dane mixed with…Saint Bernard so he's going to get bigger."

"Bigger?" Dean decided not to tell Kevin that bit of news yet since he was enjoying just seeing his brother smile and happy for the first time in a long time. "Well, we've got the room and…if Bobby could train Rumsfeld to sense out the weird…I suppose you can train these guys."

Both dogs had pounced on Sam who took it happily when he suddenly looked over their heads. "I can train them?" he figured his brother wouldn't have the patience but wasn't sure Dean understood just how much this meant to him…until he felt the gentle squeeze on the back of his neck.

"Well they are mostly your puppies so yeah, you get to train them right from wrong, where to go, where not to go, especially that your awesome big brother's room is off limits to puppies and whatever else," Dean smiled and didn't mention the unshed tears he could see shining in Sam's eyes as he went to stand up to go find Kevin and check on things down below. "You okay with this, Sammy?" he asked when he got to the door.

Sam's bright and open face gave him the answer he wanted and Dean stepped out but stayed close by for just a moment longer to listen to the pure joy of pleasure reflected in Sam's voice as he laughed when both puppies began running around the room and around him.

"He got me puppies," he whispered to himself, no longer feeling bad as he scooted to the center of the floor to play with the new additions to their little family. "You're my puppies and I'll make sure you guys like it here with us but…" he snatched the boot to toss it again. "We need some general rules about not using Dean's stuff as toys…unless I can sneak you that one damn cassette tape he's had since I was little and…"

"Touch my tapes and I'll get another puppy to replace the little brother I'll be losing," Dean called from the other room, laughing at the reply he heard to that. "Shut up, bitch."

"Jerk," Sam smirked, lifting his eyes to meet his brother's green eyes in the door as the unspoken easily passed between them since it was known and accepted why Dean did this. "Thank you," he said again, not surprised at the little smirk he got in return.

"That's what awesome big brothers do, Sammy," Dean smiled, biting his lip when he caught sight of something else. "Um, you also better name them so you know which one to yell at because the little one has your shoe."

Sam's head whirled and dove only to realize too late that was an invitation to play by the bigger black Saint Bernard/Great Dane puppy and was soon laughing as his face and neck was licked by a big wet tongue and he finally had to call time out.

An hour later after making certain where their Prophet now puppy sitter was and checking things out in the dungeon, Dean stepped back in to check on things when he stopped to allow a gentle smile to come as he took in the scene before him.

After playing hard, which would explain the knocked over chair with puppy teeth marks on the leg, all three combatants had become worn out and took naps wherever they were which is how Dean found them.

Not making any noise as he took a blanket to lie over Sam where he laid with his head pillowed on the side of the huge black puppy's side while the smaller dog was curled against Sam's chest and all three were sleeping peacefully.

"You're welcome," Dean murmured, smoothing a hand back through Sam's hair while also giving each puppy a touch. "Watch after him, guys."

The choice to get Sam a dog had been with him since the return from Arizona and while getting two had been spur of the moment and he hadn't quite planned on getting puppies that may grow bigger than Kevin but the picture of his little brother sleeping with the two pups assured him that following his heart had been the right choice.

"I don't think demons like dogs," Kevin spoke softly from beside him, accepting the puppies now and couldn't deny they were cute little guys.

"Really?" Dean smiled, dropping his eyes to the floor as if seeing the dungeon. "They might come in handy for hunting after all," he clapped Kevin the arm. "Watch them. We need more food and dog stuff so I'll be right back."

Kevin nodded and then spun. "Dean, don't come back with anything but what you're going for," he called, sighing at the wave he got in return and took another look in and going back to work while hoping the elder Winchester didn't come back with anything worse than junk food or toys for the puppies. "It's Dean. He can come back with anything."

**The End**

**A/NII: **_So it went from one puppy to two but I have a thing about even numbers, lol. Plus one puppy would be lonely. Thanks for read and I hope everyone enjoyed this little piece._


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